Modi to attend ASEAN-India Summit in Laos on October 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Laos from October 10 to 11, where he will attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit.

ASEAN is a Southeast Asian grouping with 10 countries and is vital for India’s Act East Policy.

Modi, who has been invited by PM of Laos, Sonexay Siphandone, will also attend the 19th East Asia Summit being hosted by Laos as the current Chair of ASEAN.

The Ministry of External Affairs said, “India is marking a decade of the Act East Policy this year. Relations with ASEAN are a central pillar of the Act East Policy and our Indo-Pacific vision.”

The ASEAN-India Summit will review the progress of India-ASEAN relations through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and chart the future direction of cooperation.

The East Asia Summit, a premier leaders-led forum that contributes to building an environment of strategic trust in the region, provides an opportunity for leaders of EAS Participating Countries, including India, to exchange views on issues of regional importance.

Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the margins of the summits.

Last month, when Typhoon Yagi ravaged through many Southeast Asian countries, India launched Operation Sadbhav for extending emergency humanitarian assistance. The floods and landslides has caused widespread damage to property and agricultural land, affecting around 40,000 people in northern Laos.

Ten tonnes of humanitarian relief supply has been sent to the Government of Laos. The supply in the form of hygiene kits, blankets, mosquito nets and repellents, sleeping bags, gensets, water purifiers, water purification tablets and disinfectants and other material has been airlifted today on-board a special aircraft from India.